Met Gala is held annually to celebrate the dresses on display inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but on Monday May 5, all eyes will be on the celebs entering the museum in dresses that are works of art in themselves, keeping in mind the theme for the year- Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, selected primarily by Andrew Bolton, the chief curator of the Costume Institute at the Museum.
Hosted the first Monday of May, every year, the Met Gala is hosted to raise money for the Museum's Costume Institute. Over the years, the party has evolved from being just a dinner of Manhattan socialites to a must-watch red carpet and costume party, featuring stars from all over the world.
“It’s become one of the rare occasions when movie stars, models, designers, society swans, rock legends, athletes, politicians, and rappers, not to mention a cultural icon or two, come together to celebrate fashion—and get to spend a night at the museum," says long-time Met Gala co-chair Anna Wintour.
Met Gala first started in December 1948 as a midnight dinner that charged $50 to attend.
The first Met Gala was the brainchild of fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert, who played a pivotal role in launching New York Fashion Week. She saw the event as a way to fundraise for the Costume Institute’s expenses and celebrate the opening of its annual exhibit.
Publicising itself as “The Party of the Year,” it took place at the Waldorf Astoria, and guests donned their finest formal attire.
The annual event started boasting themes in the 1970s, when Diana Vreeland became a special consultant to the Costume Institute (1972-1989).
The first themed Met Gala was the 1973 Cristóbal Balenciaga retrospective, a year after his death. Notable themes in the Vreeland era include a Russian-themed costume exhibit—for which the renowned fashion editor was decked out in Slavic attire— and an old Hollywood theme—for which the singer Cher dressed head to toe in fringe. Vreeland is known for getting more celebrities involved in the event, like First Lady Jackie Kennedy, who served as a co-chair from 1977 to 1978.
After Anna Wintour took over Met Gala in 1995, the party grew in size and began to include appearances from top names in film, sports, business, and music, which made it quite relevant that the party is not just a celebration of the Costume Institute, but also a celebration of Wintour’s dominance of the industry.